The exercise is simply to have each person/team repeat the question “How can I help you?” but in a different way to give a different meaning every time as follows:
- A sincere desire to help the customer
- Irritation that you have been interrupted from some other, more important activity
- Lack of interest in being of service to the customer
- Feeling that someone else should be helping the customer
- Feeling that you should be helping someone else
- Impatience
- Snobby attitude
- That you are rushed for time
- Lack of confidence
- That you are having a really bad day
Encourage participants to give it a different meanings by changing the tone of voice, voice inflections, emphasis, and emotion
